. >>... historic agreement. >> and we thank the foreign minister for those efforts. together now we need to set about the critical task of proving to the world what iran has said many times - that its program is, in fact peaceful.

now, with this first step we have created the time and the space in order to be able to pursue a comprehensive agreement that would finish the work that president obama begain on the very first day in office. and that is to ensure that iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. president obama worked intensively, and his administration worked intensively before i came in, when i was in the congress, and voted for sanctions. the president worked in order to put in place a significant sanctions regime. anunprecedented regime. and he worked with countries around the world in order to ensure broad participation and support for the sanctions. that has been essential to the success of these sanctions. and we believe that it is the

sanctions that have brought us to this negotiation, and ultimately to the more significant negotiation to follow for a comprehensive agreement. make no mistakes, and i ask you, don't interpret that the sanctions were annd unto themselves. they weren't. the goal of the sanctions was always to have a negotiation. and that is precisely what is now taking place, and that negotiation's goal is to secure a strong and verifiable agreement that guarantees the peacefulness of iran's nuclear program. for more than four years the international community has been united in its willingness to negotiate in good faith, and we have been particularly crystal clear that we will do whatever is necessary in order to prevent iran from having a nuclear

weapon. we have also said that we prefer a peaceful solution, a peaceful path for iran to respond to the international community's concerns. as a result of those efforts, we took the first step today to move down that path. the measures that we have committed to will remain in place for six months, and they will address the most urgent concerns about iran's nuclear program. since there has been many premature and even misleading reports i want to clearly outline what this first step entails. first, it locks the most critical components of a nuclear program into place and impedes progress in those critical components in a way that actually rolls back the

stockpile of enriched uranium and widens the length of time possible for breakout. that makes people safer. with daily access - we will gain daily access to key facilities. that will enable us to determine more quickly and with greater certainty than ever before that iran is complying. here is how we do that. iran has agreed to suspend all enrichment of uranium above 5%. iran agreed to dilute or convert its entire stockpile of 20% enriched uranium. let me make clear what that means. whereas iran today has 200 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium that could readily be enriched towards a nuclear

weapons, in six months iran will have zero - zero. iran will not increase its stockpile of 3.5% lower enriched uranium over the next six months and will not construct additional enrichment facilities. iran will not manufacture centrifuges beyond those that are broken and must be replaced. very importantly, iran will not commission or fuel the arak reactor, an unfinished facilities that if become operatable would provide an alternative path to a nuclear weapon. to ensure these two commitments are kept, iran has agreed to unprecedented monitoring. for the international community

this first step provide the most far-reaching insight and view of iran's nuclear program that the international community has ever had. this first step, let me be clear - this first step does not say that iran has a right to enrichment. no matter what interpretive comments are made, it is not in this document, there is no right to enrich within the four corners of the npt, and this document does not do that. rather, the scope and role of iran's enrichment, as is set fourth in the language within this document, says that iran's peaceful nuclear program is subject to a negotiation and to mutual agreement. and it can only be by mutual agreement that enrichment might or might not be able to be

decided on in the course of negotiations. so what is on the other side of the ledger here? again, there has been a number of premature reports and reactions, so i want to be clear about what this step provides - this first step - and what it doesn't provide. in return for the significant steps that iran will take that i just listed, and there are more incidentally than i just listed, those are the principal, the international community will provide iran with relief that is limited and perhaps most importantly reversible. the main elements of this relief would hold iran's oil sales steady and permit it to re-patriate -- repatriate $4.2 billion from the sales. that would otherwise be destined for on overseas account restricted bit the sanctions.

in addition we'll suspend certain sanctions on imports of gold and precious metals, iran's auto sector and petrochemical exports - potentially - potentially - providing around with about $1.5 billion in additional export revenues. for the benefit of the iranian people we'll facilitate human taran transactions that are already allowed i u.s. law. no u.s. law will be trained, nothing different. the sanctions laws specifically exempt humanitarian assistance. so this channel will not provide iran to any new source of funds, but we will help them in order to try to provide the people of iran with additional assistance. it improves access to goods that were never intended to be denied

to the iranian people. i want to emphasise the core sanctions architecture that president obama, together with allies and friends around the world have put together - that core architecture remains firmly in place through these six months. including with respect to oil and financial services. to put this number in perspective - during the 6-month phase, the oil sanctions that remain in place will continue to cause $25 billion in lost revenues to iran, or over $4 billion a month. that is compared to what iran earnt before this took effect. the sanctions. and while iran will get access to 4.2 billion that i talked about of restricted oil

revenues, 14 to 16 billion of its sales during this period will be locked up and out of reach. together with our partners, we are committed to maintaining our commitment to vigorrously enforcing the fast majority of the sanctions that are currently in place. again, let me repeat - this is only the first step. but it is a first step that guarantees while you take the second step, and move towards a comprehensive agreement, iran's fundamentals of its program are not able to progress for now. other centrifuge and other things that matter. that is a critical first step. i say to all of you as we conclude this first round of negotiation with the beginning of the possibility of a much

broader accomplishment down the road, it is our responsibility to be as firmly committed to diplomacy and as relentless in our resolve over the years as we have been to bring the concerted pressure that brings us to this moment. for the iranian government it's their responsibility to recognise that the first phase is a simply task. many heard that iran has a peaceful program, that's their only intention. folks, it is not hard to prove peaceful intent, if that's what you want to do? we are anxious to try to make certain that this deal will do ultimately that - prove it. i will just say, finally, i know that there are those who will

assert that this deal is imperfect. well, they, too, bear a responsibility and that is to tell people what the better alternative is. some might say we should simply continue to increase pressure - turn up the screws, continue to put sanctions on. and somehow that's going to push iran towards cap ittualation and collapse. not by any interpretation that we have from all the experts and all of the input that we have and all the countries, and the p5+1 that took place - none of them believe that would be the outcome. instead we believe while we are engaged in the effort, iran's program will march forward. it would gain. while it gains, it would become more dangerous in the region. countries like israel, emirates,

others threatened would be more threatened. we believe that you would wind up with an iran with bigger stockpiles, more advanced centrifuges and president obama believes that doesn't benefit anybody. in 19 - excuse me, in 2003 when the iranians made an offer to the former administration with respect to their nuclear program, there were 164 centrifuges. that offer was not taken. subsequently sanctions came in and today there are 19,000 sent sent sentry fuges and -- centrifuges and growing much people have to make a judgment and choice. i am confident that we have made

the right choice for ou you proceed to a new agreement. more offer, making sanctions the sum total of our policy will not strengthen the international coalition we have built in order to bring iran to the negotiating table. it would instead weaken the coalition, and many believe to merely continue at a time where iran says we are prepared to negotiate would, in fact, break up the current sanctions regime. others argue for military action as a first resort. well, president obama and i do not share a belief that wore is a permanent solution, and it should never be the first option. instead, that particular option involves enormous risks in many different ways and as president obama often said, while that option remains available to us, and the president will not take

it off the table, he believes that that can only be entertained after we have made every effort to resolve the dispute through diplomacy, barring immediate emergency that requires a different response. so i close by saying to all of you this the singular objective that brought us to geneva remains our singular objective as we leave geneva, and that is to ensure that iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. in that singular objective we are resolute. foreign minister mohammad javad zarif emphasis that they don't intend to do this. the supreme leader indicates there is a fatwa that prevent them doing this. we want to see the process put in place by which all of that is proven - not through words, but

actions. we are prepared to work in good faith with mutual respect, to work in a way as we did in the last days, cordually with an atmosphere that was respectful, even if it was tough, it issa morph towards a process of making certain that this threat will be eliminated. in that singular objective we are resolute and in that mission we are absolutely committed and in that endeavour we will do everything in our power to be able to succeed. on that note i'm happy to ask a couple of questions. >> the first from ann gurrin from "the washington post." >> mr secretary you said a good bit about the requirements on iran and your hopes for what it will do on a sort of technical level. i would hope that you might just take a moment and reflect on

what this agreement may mean or signify longer term or in a larger sense. this is several months and this is the first time that a diplomatic level from the united states and iran sat together and talked about anything much less something of this moment. what is your view and what is your hope for what the next steps as far as a u.s. relationship with iran would be. >> well, obviously it is not insignificant, nor does it just fly by me, nor the president, who took great risks in committing us and making certain that we would proceed forward on this endeavour. it's no small thing, i think, that since 1979, for, what,

34 years, iran and the united states have not been able to talk to each other, and there has been an enormous build-up of suspicion and an enormous build-up of animosity, and there have been moments here and there were there might have been some kind of minor assistance one way or the other - for instance, when we went in to afghanistan in 2001. there actually was some assistance at that moment in time from iran. so there has been these moments. i think by and large it is fair to say that iran's choices have created a very significant barrier. and huge security concerns for our friends in the region, for israel, for gulf states and

others, and obviously they have made certain choices that are de deeply profoundly unsettling in terms of stability in the region and the possibility of anything except our focus on the nuclear program. it's too early for us to talk about other things. it's just not right. obviously one would hope that iran will make choice that is will rejoin the community of nations in full. the first step is to resolve the nuclear issue. and it shouldn't be hard. if you are, in fact, absolutely determined to make good on the promise that this is a peaceful program. our hope is that the nuclear engagement and the resolution of its differences with respect to the u.n., and the international community can, indeed, lead to

what the foreign minister and president hassan rouhani talked about, which is a new relationship with the west and its neighbours. but nobody that i know of is going to accept the words at face value. it is going to be proven by the choices iran makes, by the actions that it takes. we are open and president obama has made it clear that he is prepared to put in motion the steps that can prove those actions and put these words to the test. that is exactly what we are doing now about the first step and we look forward to hopefully in a short span of time being able to put together a comprehensive agreement that will provide the guarantees necessary to our friends in the region. let me be crystal clear to israel, to our other friends in the region, to any neighbour who feels threatened that the next step requires proof certain, a

failsafe set of steps which eliminate the counter prospect of a break-out and creation of a nuclear weapon. that will require dismantling certain things. it will require stopping certain kinds of activities, requiring fundamental choices and we are prepared to work with iran in order to put in place a protocol that achieves those ends. i think this is potentially a significant moment, but i'm not going to stand here in some trium fall moment and suggest to you that this is an end unto itself. it is not. it is a step towards the much more significant goal and a harder to achieve goal of having a program that is absolutely failsafe, provable to be only possible to be peaceful. and that is what we have to work for now. >> so last question is from

nicole from bloomberg news. >> hi, mr secretary. congratulations to you and your team. i'm wondering if you have heard from prime minister benyamin netanyahu about this arrangement, and how you would answer criticism from israel that by easing sanctions you have less leverage over iran today than you did yesterday and therefore are less likely to reach a final settlement. i want to pick up on comments about core sanctions being in place. that's been true for a long time and we have seen vociferous criticism out of congress. >> social, i couldn't hear you. >> there has been criticism out of congress, there are statements from republican senators saying it's not good enough. >> the members of the other party are criticising the president - i can't imagine that. >> i have a real question.

my understanding is you, the p5+1 are pledging not to increase nuclear-related sanctions for the next six months if iran complies. how can you ensure that you can keep your end of the bargain with congress chomping at the bit. >> they are two good questions, i'll answer directly, firstly with respect to benyamin netanyahu. he is a friend of mine, a man i have great respect for and i work with very closely, particularly right now on the middle east peace process. i talked to him several times a week. i have talked to him as recently, you know, in the last day, about this very issue, on several occasions. now, the fact that we might disagree about a tactic does not mean there is a sl. >> -- sliver of daylight between

us. we need to keep the pressure on and have insight to the process. it's a difference of judgment, calculation, but there is no difference who so far between the united states and israel on what the end goal must be. we cannot have an iran that is going to threaten its neighbours, and that has a nuclear weapon. from the day president obama came into office, he made it clear that a centrepiece of his policy is that iran will not have a nuclear weapon. now, iran says it doesn't want a nuclear weapon, it's not going after a nuclear weapon, therefore it ought to be easy to do the things that other nations do, who enrich, and prove that their program is peaceful. so that's what we are looking

for. we are looking for it in absolute sync with our friends in israel. and i have said frequently no deal is better than a bad deal. we are not going to strike, ultimately, when you have to prove that the program is peaceful. that means you are going to have to look at cradle to grave uranium and what happens to it. you need limitations on certain components, limitations on the type of facilities. iraq, a heavy water plutonium facility has no business within the framework of a peaceful program. we have been very clear about that. so there's many things. i'm not going through them all right now, but it is crystal clear that israel and the united states have the same goal, the same strategic interest and we'll stand with israel with respect to this policy and the

other allies in the region who are equally concerned about what iran might or might not choose to be doing. with respect the second part of your question is on congress. i have great confidence in my colleagues in the congress. i think they are going to look at this very carefully, and they should. i look forward to going up on the hill. i look forward to engaging with my former colleagues, explaining what we've done, why we believe in it and working together with congress in order to achieve the goal. congress sought to have negotiations. now, ultimately if somehow, you know, we wound up not agreeing and the congress not agreeing, the president has a possibility

of a veto. i don't think it should come to that, we don't want to to come to that, i believe congress will see the wisdom of pursuing this for the purposes i articulated, with very strict delineation of exactly how we are going to achieve our goals, and with a cooperative effort, and we will brief congress readily, work with congress in a companyive way. i think congress will be an important partner in helping us to put this to the test over the course of the next six months. thank you all very much. appreciate it. get some sleep. >> there is secretay of state john kerry speaking in geneva after this historic night where a nuclear - an agreement has been reached over iran's nuclear program for the first time in a decade. he was clear to point out he

believes the sanctions against iran has worked and the deal has made the united states, middle east and israel safer. he is speaking with benyamin netanyahu of israel. they will simply disagree to the tactic, but stand firm on the agreement that they are definitely moving forward in trying to stop iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. iran said repeatedly in the past that's not what it intends to do. secretary-general saying prove it. this is the first step in a long-negotiating process, it temporarily freezes iran's nuclear program and rolls it back with the hope in six months they can reach a far more lasting deal. we'll have more in this story in a couple of moments, after this quick break.

>> you are watching al jazeera america continuous coverage of this historic night in geneva where a deal has been reached over iran's nuclear program after more than a decade. it's the first of its kind. it comes after marathon talks after days of negotiation, it lasted into the night and sunday morning geneva time. as it stands, this is how the deal breaks down. iran agreed to halt all uranium enrichment above 5%. any above 5% that iran has will be diluted or converted to prevent further enrichment. iran agreed not to install

centrifuges of any type. there will be limits on iran's ability to use replacement centrifuges, iran cannot use the next six months to stockpile. iran has allowed transparency, inspectors will be allowed in and they'll provide daily access to two major nuclear facilities. moments ago president obama addressed the nation and made it clear if iran does not meet commitments the u.s. could reimpose sanctions and apply pressure on iran. now the iranian foreign minister spoke a short time ago with the prospects for cooperation for the two sides as they look ahead. >> we have established a joint commission to monitor the implementation of our agreement. this is a process of attempting to restore confidence, and i

hope that the two sides can move forward in a manner that would be conducive to this objective, because that is an overarching objective. we need to start moving in the direction of restoring confidence, a directions that we have managed to move against in the past several years, and that is required to be able to gain the confidence of iranian people. >> let's turn to our phil ittner, who is standing by live in geneva. i was struck by how inclusive the agreement seems to be. secretay of state john kerry making it clear that this will freeze if not roll back iran's nuclear ambitions. >> yes, that's right. the other thing is you really get a sense of why this was so

hard to hash out. the just sheer number of specific issues - whether it's the amount of money and the sanctions, where the sanctions would be alleviated, what centrifuges would be shut down, the various enrichment levels. secretay of state john kerry clearly outlining the various fine points of this deal. it's no wonder it took so long to hash out this deal. he also, in his press conference, went out of his way to assuage the fears of those who will look upon this agreement as cap ittualation or defeat and went out of his way to as wuj the fears of israel. there's also, of course, been the earlier press conference by the iranian foreign minister who

also indicated that there needs to be an effort to change the perception of iran and that this hopefully is a first step in a larger process of bringing the islamic republic into the global community. let's take a listen to what he had to stay. >> i hope the outcome of this opera house, in addition to the resolution of the nuclear issue will be to take concrete steps in the restoration of confidence, particularly the confidence of iranian people towards the west, and that would be a good new beginning for our relations. but that is the secondary active. the primary objective is to move in the direction of resolving the nuclear issue. >> secretay of state john kerry addressed that very issue as well, and said that certainly if, indeed, the nuclear program

is simply for peaceful measures, then, fine, it should not be taken at face value that it is. there will have to be verification and they went into great detail in the early hours here about how that will be done. unprecedented access, unfettered access. daily access to key facilities within iran that has the region and the international community gravely concerned about what it is that iran's intentions are. now, all sides have said this is not the end game, this is not the - this is not the last step, not a resolution. this is the first step. it is no doubt being considered here as an important historic step and a first step towards that ultimate resolution. >> talk about the next steps. what happens logistically here

as we look down the road over the next six months as the two sides hammer out a wider agreement. >> well, the first most important thing is to get iaea inspectors - the atomic energy agency into iran to get access to those sites. then in the 6-month period there'll be a process of taking the surplus uranium, the rich uranium that iran has and making that a safe material - secretay of state john kerry saying currently they have 200 kilos in six months. this is an interim deal. this is the first step as has been repeatedly said by the

dignitaries. this will then lead to a review of what iran's nuclear program consists of. they will then take that as a basis towards further steps down the road to ultimately put at ease the world's view of the k nuclear program and confirm that the nuclear program does not have a weapon in mind. this will be a lengthy process, the first 6-month period. it is reversible, we are reassured by the members of the p5+1, and this will be a trial period. more substantive steps if, indeed, this first initial period goes well - well, then, we'll see what those are in about six months time. and there'll be several more steps we are lead to believe

before a complete resolution of this contentious issue, this dispute between iran and the rest of the world that has been going on for 10 years now. >> for 10 years, and by all indications it appears that iran is cooperating. >> phil ittner live from geneva. we want to go to libby casey, standing by in washington with more on this. i imagine not everyone in washington is celebrating this news tonight. >> well, we are hearing a mixed reaction from members of congress, some republicans critical. one tweet came from john cornerer's office, a republican from texas saying it's a distraction from obamacare. others see it as a moment us moment in diplomacy. president obama said he has a profound responsibility to try to resolve differences peacefully and called it a first step and a significant one. >> for the first time in nearly

a decade we have halted the process of the iranian nuclear program, and key parts of the program will be rolled back. iran has committed to halting certain levels of enrichment and neutralizing part of its stockpiles. >> much focus on sanctions and whether they have been successful and led to the next. secretay of state john kerry pointed out a decade ago when the bush administration was approached by iran to talk, there were 164 centrifuges today 19,000 in growing - that's a reason to move forward on diplomatic efforts and use sanctions as a tool. secretay of state john kerry said they were not an end to themselves, but a way to move forward and try to bring iran to the table. president obama gave more details about what the sanctions entail and called this somewhat of a relief. here is the president. >> on our side, the united

states and friends and allies, agreed to provide iran with modest relief while continuing to apply toughest sanctions. we'll reframe from imposing new sanctions and will allow the irani government a portion of revenue they have been act use through sanctions. >> secretay of state john kerry addressed, former member of the senate, as is president obama. john kerry sat with the men and women who will be weighing in over the next 24 hours. he said he looks forward to talking with congress and making our case, but the president holds veto power. one important thing to know the actions tonight, talking about the relief, the $6 billion-$7 billion does not require the

actions of congress and can be done through executive order. >> the president said no new sanctions will be allowed but members of congress insist that more are needed, or at least you heard that until the recent agreement. >> that's where the crux of the art lies. the question is whether sanctions have gotten us to where we are now, whether they are the means to the end and whether they should go further. we will see more reaction from congress. democrats are speaking out in support of the president - no surprise. john kerry got a bit of a laugh when one asked him about the negative reaction from a rup can. john kerry said essentially they'd react to what president obama and his team is pushing for. we are seeing more questions from some republicans, jeff lake, new it the senate, a long-time house member that wanted to see more details. a lot is centring around the

centrifuges and how far dismantling would or wouldn't go. that's a big question. >> a big question for a lot of us. libby casey live from washington. we want to go to a middle east security expert in washington tonight. thank you for being with us. >> the big question - what do you think? >> first of all no matter what we think about the deal, and i know there's a lot of opposition to the deal, this is historic. this could be either a great step towards a better future not only for iran and the west, but other - for the greater middle east. on the other handif iran decides not to behave and abide by the rules, we can expect harsher sanctions and treatment to come from. west. we have six months. we have to see how iran behaves

and reacts and how do hard liners led by ayatollah khamenei, who pretty of holds the cards - how they'll react. it will be interesting to see the foreign ministers show up and agree on a deal without higher approval. there has been times in the past where foreign ministers signed a deal and it didn't go well. i'm optimistic but cautiously optimistic, it's an historic del. we have to see how this will unfold. >> when you look at the terms of the agreement, how much iran agreed to do, is iran not doing everything it can to show the world that yes, it can be trusted. >> here is the thing. iran has its own domestic audience to panneder too. so does the united states. the first thing said, and the foreign minister said the iranian right to enrich has been

completely and fully respected. that's his interpretation of what is in the deal. according to secretay of state john kerry and president obama, there's no such thing explicitly this the deal. can iran show its intentions are peaceful? >> absolutely. the deal will sort of pave the way for further inspection, a freeze on iranian facilities and enrichment and a way to make sure. can we trust iran? yes, but we have to make sure the trust is verified. iran needs to go the next step and the next additional mile to prove to the west and the world that it's meeting its obligations. on the other hand the president has done a good job by bringing iran back to the negotiation table. now, halting the pressure, halting the sanctions and letting diplomacy work for the time being to see whether iran will live up to its operations. >> if iran was not serious, why

would it agree to the deal? >> iran has been under back-breaki back-breaking sanctions. they were not the end goal, they were in place to bring them to the negotiating table. the current iranian president hassan rouhani, he ran to win, his main promise to the iranian people was this, "i am going to make breakthroughs in the iranian nuclear dossier and with that will come sanction relief", iran and its economy is hurting. it's under back-breaking sanctions. they need breathing room. they need to make changes. eight years of hardliners in power, run by mahmoud ahmadinejad did not pay off. now hassan rouhani has a public mandate and with grugeing support from the supreme leader they have been able to strike

the deal. had it not been for international pressure, it would not have happened, and if not for the willing partners in the west, including president obama and secretay of state john kerry, and foreign minister mohammad javad zarif, and sergei lavrov, it would not have been possible. the right time, place and deal. deals such as this that can be made. there may be stumbling blocks in the future. we have to be patient. give it time from the right and the west. as a pounding founder said years ago a good compromise is a compromise in which both sides are equally unhappy. both are unhappy and heap at the same time. give it some time, let's see how it rolls out. for the time being it seems the west has managed to stop the enrichment and iran is going to

open up some of its facilities. we'll see the result. >> it's a huge advancement from where we were a year ago. i want to hit on the point about the right to enrichment. it's a thorn in the negotiations. even tonight secretary kerry saying that iran does not have a right to enrichment. iran's foreign minister saying, "of course they do, it's their right." we are talking about words, not actions. just of the words, whether iran has this right. explain to us why that is such a sticking point and why it is so important to both sides? >> first of all, there's no such a thing as recognition of nuclear enrichment in the deal. let's get it out of the way. >> according to you, but iran says no. >> according to the deal published and the state department announced it and the president announced it. john kerry would not come on tv and making is up.

having said that for the past many years, the iranian leadership tried to tie the program with iran's identity. they are a proud people coming from a long line of history, taking an agreed deal of pride in history and identity. tying this to a nuclear program has been a winning card. they have the right to enrich under the mpt according to the iranian government the the west has been - there's no inherent right to enrich according to article 4 of the npt. the foreign minister went on youtube and had a video saying, "hey, why can't the iranians get the same treatment as any other county? if they can enrich, why can't we." the answer is not every country in the world behaves the by the gulf country does. it stems from iran's revolutionary and alienating

flam atry rhetoric and behaviour. but it is acceptable to see mohammad javad zarif and the iranian team try to sell this to domestic audiences, yes. the right to enrich is respected. in the u.s. the president can never go along with a deal accepting iran's right to enrich. both sides trying to panneder to a domestic audience, keeping the hard liners in check. the revolutionary guard corp, the hardliner elements - we have to wait and see how they react. it's unlikely without the supreme leader's permission they would have made a deal, but the supreme leader has never been a fan of the west or the united states. we have to see how he'll react. as a matter of fact official iranian newsagency and broadcasting went on the air and congradualated the supreme

leader for his great leadership in winning the great deal and finally getting what the iranian government and people deserved. >> a lot of congratulations across the world, without question. >> thank you so much for your time tonight. >> we'll take a break. more on this coverage on this night in geneva, a deal reached on iran's nuclear program. more after this.

>> welcome back, you're watching al jazeera america with continuous coverage of this site in geneva, after a deal was reached with iran over its nuclear program. it comes after days and hours of negotiations that lasted frankly all day today, well into the night and next morning geneva type of. president obama spoke, addressed the nation and called this an historic moment and called it a promising first step. it's an agreement to freeze the program with the hope that a longer lasting deal can be roached. here is president obama from

earlier this evening. >> in these negotiations nothing will be agreed to unless everything is agreed to. the burden is on iran to prove to the world that its nuclear program will be for peaceful purposes. if iran seizes this opportunity the iranian people will benefit from joining the international community and we can chip away at the mistrust between the two nations. >> it's an historic break through in a decade-old conflict. this is how the deal breaks down. iran will agree to halt uranium enrich pt above 5%. anything above that will be diluted our deluded in a way that it prevent further enrich pd: iran will not include installation or use of next-generation centrifuges that could enrich uranium. there'll be limits on iran's

limits to produce replacement centrifug centrifuges. as part of the deal iran committed to transparency and monitoring of the nuclear program, and will provide daily access by inspectors to two major nuclear facilities. president obama addressed the nation, making it clear if iran does not meet its commitments the u.s. could reimpose sanctions and provide additional pressure on iran. it's a huge night in geneva and across the world. we'll watch the story, bringing you more online and throughout the night. we have other news. >> in syria one of the largest oil fields was seized. >> cutting off nearly all of bashar al-assad's reserves. caroline malone has that story. >> opposition fighters say they have taken control of syria's

largest oil fields. it's difficult to prove, but the video shows the entrance to ar-omar near deir ezzor. it was posted online. this man says the area was taken at dawn from government forces and is in the hands of the al-nusra front, an al qaeda linked group as well as the ekhlas army and mouta brigades. he introduced a field commander who described the defeat. >> we are an omar oil field. his men ran away like rats, leaving the tanks. >> it's the scop time opposition forces took control of the facilityies. the government withdrew from the oil field last november, tog get it back again. if it has changed hands again, that means most of the syria's

oil reserves are in the hands of the opposition and thanks to the e.u.'s decision to relax, they are allowed to sell it abroad. the bashar al-assad government has access to oil, there are working pipelines elsewhere in the country and a willing provider in ally iran. >> and diplomatic relations between egypt and turkey are deteriorating. the egyptian government expelled the turkish ambassador, after the turkish government processed mohamed morsi as a champion. anita mcnaught has more from turkey. >> from the foreign ministry came without warningment the egyptian government had been aware for some time. >> the egyptian government

followed with approval on the statements of the mohamed morsi. this represents a string of episodes and stances issued by them reflecting an unaccepted challenge to the will of the egip shn people. >> what was it that the turkish prime minister said that was a last straw for the egip shops >> translation: i applaud mohamed morsi. i have no report for those that put him on trial. >> turkey's remained an outspoken critic of military coups that followed mass protests. his party had ties to egypt's muslim brotherhood. while other countries like the united states and cuttar shifted their stance to work with the egyptian regime turkey

campaigned for president mohamed morsi's reenstatement. egypt's government considers this as overstepping the mark. turkey delivered a tit for tat, matching egypt by doesn't grading and expelling the ambassador. >> the turkish president and foreign minister made conciliatory statements, the prime minister made his feelings clear by delivering the anti-coup salute at a meeting later in the day. >> a lot of news going around the world. a quick check of the weather. there's dangerous weather out there, especially in the west. >> in texas, oklahoma, ice accumulations coming down by a tenth of an inch. it will pile up, some places a quarter of an inch of ice.

central texas, northern texas getting snow 1-2 inches. roswell in new mexico is reporting an inch and a half of snow and around the great lakes. sounds like a big winter story. it really is. arctic air pouring out of the north causing winds, wind chills around zero for parts of the north-east and all this snow come up for texas and the colorado rockies, great ski weather. different if you are travelling for thanksgiving. especially as there's more rain and sleet into central texas. for denver, 27. dallas 39 and dallas as we get into the early part of the day has of risk of freezing rain. we are cautious because of a low pressure system bringing in the cold air. it will be tracks eastwards but is something to monitor as you make your travel plans.

>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm jonathan betz with a quick update. a deal has been reached on iran's nuclear program. the announcement made by the lead european negotiator catherine ashton after talks going well into the night in geneva. president obama call the deal an important first step. >> today that diplomacy opened up a new path towards a world that is more secure, a future in which we can verify that iran's nuclear program is peaceful and it cannot build a nuclear weapon. >> i hope the outcome of this process, in addition to the resolution of the nuclear issue, will be to